I Love You, Always
by Jazz'nblues
Summary: Katniss's first two years after University are rocky but she manages to get a job working as a stage manager on the Caeser Flickerman Show. Which just so happened to have young actor, Peeta Mellark, as a special guest on her first day of work. Their relationship together blooms but the pressures are high and Peeta makes sure Katniss remembers that he loves her, always
1. Chapter 1

**New story!**

**So I know this idea is kinda used a lot but so was my other one and you guys seemed to like it. I'm going to try and make it as original as I can but if it's too similar to a particular fanfic, please tell me. **

**I'm just gonna say this now and never again. All rights go to Suzanne Collins blah blah blah**

Chapter 1

She couldn't believe how far she had gotten. Sure, it came with a few bumps on the road but everyone had to overcome obstacles to be successful in life. If someone had told her two years ago that she wouldn't be working dead end jobs, trying to meet her rent and making sure she and Prim had three meals a day, and would possibly be working as a stage manager for the Caeser Flickerman Show, she'd probably scoff and turn away.

But when the opportunity came Katniss wasn't going to scoff and turn away. Who in their right mind would turn away working on the Caeser Flickerman Show.

Really, she had Madge to thank for the job opportunity. After two years of struggling to get by, my best friend talked to a buddy that worked on the show to put in a good word for Katniss. And so here she was, sitting on the couch in her medium sized apartment thinking of actually, how lucky she was because if not for Madge she'd probably still be working in that awful diner only to be fired about a week later.

She had the mind to call Prim and tell her about the job offer but then realised that there was a good chance that she would not get the job and she couldn't bear to hear her be upset that my dream still wasn't kicking off.

She was brought back to life by the ringing of her old Nokia phone.

"Hello?" She asked, trying to sound somewhat professional in case it was the Flickerman Show calling.

"Don't get your hopes up. It's just me." Madge's soft voice said. Katniss couldn't help but feel an edge to it though.

"I've got a bottle of tequila with our names on it. Can you get here in ten minutes?"

"Yeah, sure." Katniss knew something was wrong. Madge wasn't a drinker. The only time she'd do it was if something huge happened, like a long-time boyfriend cheating on her with the waitress they had when they went to dinner for their five month anniversary, or her dog dying. Both of which has happened.

She grabbed my keys and got into my beat up Volvo. It took three tries but she was thankfully able to get it started.

She didn't bother knocking and instead used the keys Madge had given her for emergencies because in her eyes, this was an emergency.

"Are you okay?" Katniss asked Madge when she saw her glaring at the wall while angrily scratching at the wooden table. She looked up at the sound of Katniss's voice.

Katniss cautiously moved to the tale and put her hand over Madge's, stopping her scratching. "What happened?" She asked.

"I didn't want to start without you but since your hear, bottoms up." She took a big gulp from the bottle and handed it to Katniss.

Katniss gingerly took it, still eyeing Madge warily.

It burned down her throat and her body shivered. She then looked Madge dead in the eye and said, "Now that we've done that, are you ready to tell me what's going on?"

Madge suddenly stated crying and Katniss quickly pulled her in for a hug. Her whole body started shaking but after about two minutes of this, Katniss realised that she was laughing. She pulled away from her only for Madge to start laughing her ass off.

Katniss stared at her, wondering what was happening. Finally Madge stopped laughing but struggled to catch her breath as she said, "Oh my God that was so good. I didn't actually think you'd fall for it, I mean when do I ever drink?"

Katniss glared at her. "And what was the point for this?"

She put her hands up in front of her in defense. "Hey, don't get mad at me. You've just been so tense lately and I thought this would lighten you up a bit."

"You got me really worried."

"I know, I'm sorry."

She grabbed the bottle and took a huge swig. "It _was_ a little bit funny, kinda."

Madge stared at Katniss for a second then burst out laughing again. Katniss couldn't help but join in after a few seconds. They laughed until their sides hurt and at that moment she truly realised how nice it was that she had a friend as awesome as Madge.

"I just knew you would be sitting on your couch, thinking of the job so I thought I would pull a little prank on you to help you take your mind of things."

"Thanks for caring Madge."

"No problem Kitty Kat." She gave Katniss a side hug, knowing very well that Katniss hated the nickname.

"I'm going to let that one slide but just this once." Katniss paused before it suddenly occurred to her that Madge made her drive all the way here just so she could prank Katniss. "So was the only reason I came here so that you could prank me?" Katniss asked, voicing her thoughts.

"No, of course not. I actually wanted you to come over so I could talk to you about what I had planned for us tonight. The prank was just something brilliant I thought about when I was about to call you."

"And so what exactly is this thing you have planned for us tonight?" Katniss knew no good could come out of what Madge would say. It could be anything.

"We're going clubbing."

And there it was.

There was no way Katniss was going clubbing. She would rather watch paint dry or the grass grow.

Madge saw Katniss about to reject the offer and quickly butted in. "I'm not taking no for an answer so don't even try."

Katniss sighed knowing that when Madge said she wouldn't take no for an answer, she meant it.

Madge smiled when she saw Katniss slump in defeat. She didn't know why Katniss even tried to put up a fight anymore. She always ended up winning.

"Okay so we're going to The Seam. I asked Gale if he wanted to join but he has piles of paperwork he has to do."

Katniss cringed inwardly. She and Gale had a big fight a few weeks ago. He was mad because she was being stubborn and didn't want to ask her parents for money to help her with her financial troubles and Katniss stormed out but not before angrily throwing a framed picture of the two of them at him.

Katniss was sorry but also didn't want to be the first to apologise.

So she glanced at Madge and said to her, "Do your worst."

*insert line here*

They walked to the front of the growing line up at The Seam. The bouncer took one look at them and urged them forward. Katniss and Madge held out their ID then made their way into the music filled room. Katniss took in the surroundings of the club and couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. She was going to need a couple of drinks if she would be able to handle all this.

She turned to Madge and yelled that she was getting drinks.

"Good idea." She said in response and followed behind her. "Don't forget to show some boob." She whispered in Katniss's ear as they neared the bar.

She glanced down at her low cut blue dress and shrugged. She was showing enough boob in her opinion. They walked to the counter and leaned over, quickly attracting the attention of the bartender.

He was a medium height guy with dark hair that screamed desperate. But non the less Katniss gave him a flirty smile and said, "I'll have a Long Island Iced Tea and my friend here will have a screwdriver."

A screwdriver was Madge's go to drink because it was the orange juice died down the strong taste of Vodka.

"I'm going to go pee and possibly make out with whatever guy I see."

Katniss knew she was kidding and playfully told her, "Well don't forget you have a drink waiting for you to get back."

She sat there and the bartender gave her her drink, making sure their hands touched. He winked at her then went back to attending to other people."

"Kinda funny how that dude fulfils every stereotypical thing about male bartenders." Katniss jumped at the sound of the man next to her. He was waring sunglasses and a baseball cap but she could still get out the tufts of blonde hair sticking out. She also couldn't help but notice the nice scruff he was sporting.

As she studied him Katniss realised that she might as well make this night memorable and have some fun with the guy. "Not as funny as a guy coming into a bar with sunglasses, a baseball cap and khaki pants." She said while taking a sip of her drink.

The guy smiled. "I'll take that you're from the UK. With your accent and all." He added, tying desperately not to sound stupid. The girl was the most beautiful thing he'd ever laid eyes on and he wasn't about to scare her away.

"Yeah, I came here four years ago to go to university but anyways let's see who's under those sunglasses."

Before he could react, Katniss pulled the sunglasses off his face and took the cap off too and saw his piercing blue eyes.

The guy closed his eyes, waiting for the girl's reaction. When it didn't work he opened his eyes only to be met with her confused grey ones.

"I don't get it. Was something supposed to happen?" Then she noticed her drink was empty and waved at the bartender for another one.

The guy quickly swiped his sunglasses and cap back and hurriedly put it on. "You don't know who I am?" He asked after making sure it was on okay.

"Am I supposed to know who you are?"

He hurriedly shook his head and was about to say something but Madge ran to the table, downed her drink and pulled Katniss off her chair. "Let's dance. We came here to have fun and that is what we will do."

Katniss finished her second glass before following her Madge. She glanced back at the blonde haired guy and saw him staring at her. Katniss gave him a small wave which seemed to snap him out of it and couldn't help but laugh at how cute he looked. She mouthed a 'bye' as her and Madge got on the dance floor. As they danced her mind couldn't help but stray to the blue eyed wonder at the bar.

When she looked back about thirty minutes later she saw that his seat was empty. She tried to hide the slight disappointment she felt about him not being there. She would most likely never see him again and hadn't even gotten so much as his name.

Meanwhile the blonde haired man sat in the passenger seat of his black Audi. Images of the dark haired girl with grey eyes infiltrated his mind. He wished he had said more to her. She seemed like the perfect girl and best of all she didn't know who he was, which meant she wasn't only talking to him because he was famous. He mentally hit himself. The least he could have done was gotten her name.

He knew it would never work out though. He would never bring her into his hectic life of dodging the paparazzi and fans but even so, he stood by what he thought when he first saw her.

The girl with the dark hair and grey eyes was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

**Big sigh. That's the first chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it. If you did feel free to favourite, follow, and/or review this story**

**I'll try and update Blue eyes as soon as I can to anyone who reads it.**

**Check out my Tumblr if you haven't already**

**Last thing: I really need a Beta so anyone who is willing to should PM me. **

*****GO BACK AND READ THE THING ABOVE THIS…PLEASE*****


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for your amazing response to my last chapter. Keep it up!**

Chapter 2

Not once did her thoughts stray from the blue eyed, blonde haired guy in the baseball cap and sunglasses. He followed her in her dreams and her waking moments. For once Katniss wasn't mulling over her possible job, and it seemed Madge noticed too.

Katniss's constant spacing out worried her. It had started after they went to the club. Maybe she was worried that Caesar's show hadn't called her back yet, or about something that had happened when they were there.

Katniss and Madge were sitting around a small circular table at the coffee shop, chatting. Katniss was out of it, her mind still on the blue eyed guy from the club.

She looked up to see Madge staring at her expectedly.

"I'm sorry, what?" She asked, blinking.

"I was just saying that you've been acting weirdly lately. What's up?"

Madge was Katniss's best friend. She could tell her anything, but did she really want to tell _anyone_ about her obsession with a guy that she barely knew?

Her mouth acted of its own accord. "I met this guy at The Seam and I can't get my mind off of him. I didn't even get his name or his number or anything."

Madge was silent for a few moments. "Was it a baseball cap and sunglasses guy?"

Katniss nodded, and she continued. "No offense, but how could you be interested in a guy that wears that to a club?"

"I know he was dressed weirdly, but he was funny and charming and incredibly hot."

Madge gaped at her in shock. In the four years she had know Katniss Everdeen, she had never referred to a guy as hot, and especially not a guy she had only met a few days ago. To be honest, Katniss herself was also shocked.

"Who's funny, charming, and incredibly hot?" boomed a deep voice. They looked up to see Gale standing there with a cheeky grin on his face. He pulled up a seat and took a gulp out of Katniss's cappuccino.

She shot him a nasty look but he laughed it off and cupped a hand to his ear.

"None of your business Gale." Madge snapped.

"Oh, but I was asking Katniss."

Katniss stared at the two of them. She had known them for the same amount of time and for as long as she knew them Madge and Gale had hated each other.

From the moment they met each other they went at each other's necks but Katniss had a feeling that they were constantly at each other was because they actually liked each other. Both of them were too stupid to see that though.

"Can we please just go out without you two strangling each other? I'm not going to tell you who we were talking about because you don't need to know."

Gales smirked and batted his eyes. "It's me, isn't it? I'm so dreamy. And muscular. And the girls always have a good time, right, Madge? And don't forget how kissable this mouth is!"

Gale puckered his lips, but Katniss ignored him and took a sip out of her drink. Before his mind could wander off to the blue-eyed wonder, her phone rang. Katniss was surprised; she wasn't expecting anyone to call her.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Katniss Everdeen?"

"Yes?"

"I'm from the Caeser Flickerman show, and I just wanted to inform you that you've gotten the job as a stage manager."

She sat there in a shocked silence. "Hello?" The voice asked, "Are you still there?"

"Yeah, sorry. So, um, when do I start?"

"You start Thursday, but you should come in tomorrow at 1:00 pm so we can show you how things work around here?"

She nodded but then realised that they were speaking through the phone and he couldn't see her. "Okay, I will. Thank you so much! Bye."

Katniss hung up and stared at Madge and Gale, dumbfounded. "What happened?" Madge asked carefully.

"That was the Caesar Flickerman show. They want me to come in tomorrow so they can show me the ropes." She started grinning, bigger than she had grinned in a long time. "I got the job. I got the job!"

She was attracting glances from other customers but she couldn't bring herself to care. She had gotten the job of her dreams. She would be able to get out of debt and afford nice things for herself. Katniss deserved to be a little loud for once.

Madge squealed and engulfed her in a hug. Gale, not being the type to squeal, just smiled and ruffled her head.

"I knew you would get it." Madge exclaimed, "You had nothing to be worried about. Let's go out and celebrate. We could-"

"Hold on," Gale said, cutting her off. "We can't go anywhere because Katniss is going to have to go to work tomorrow and she can't be hung-over on the first day, can she?"

"I didn't mean drinks or anything." Madge gave Gale a withering glare. "I meant a movie marathon with buffalo wings and garbage pizza."

Katniss smiled. That sounded a lot better than going out and getting drunk.

Garbage pizza was a pizza that they bought from a pizzeria piled high with everything imaginable on it. None of them had ever dared to eat it but one day, Gale dared Katniss to get it and to her surprise it tasted like heaven on earth. They eventually made it a tradition that anytime anything celebrating worthy or sorrowful happened to them they would have a movie night with buffalo wings and, the main attraction, garbage pizza.

"It's my turn to pick the movies though." Gale said, "I think I want to do Star Wars again."

"Oh no! There's no way I'm going to watch the entire Star Wars trilogy with you again."

"Last time, I had to watch the Twilight Saga." Gale reminded them loudly. People were starting to shoot them annoyed looks so Katniss told Gale to quiet it down.

Other than that she stayed out of this recurring debate. Honestly, it was her turn to choose, but really the best way to ensure that they would all like the movie they would be watching was to let them fight it out until they reached common ground and eventually picked one.

After a lengthy argument (six and a half pieces of garbage pizza), the three settled on the entire Harry Potter film series…again.

Because everyone knows that you can never go wrong with a little JK Rowling.

* * *

Katniss walked up to The Flickerman Show's building, trying to look as calm as she could even though her stomach was doing backflips and, she felt like she could throw up at any moment. She pictured meeting Caesar and then vomiting all over him.

That did nothing to calm her nerves.

A lot was riding on this. Sure, she had already gotten the job, but the meeting was where their first impressions of her would be made. She might have been overthinking, this but she didn't care; being careful was better than being reckless and losing her job.

She opened the doors to see a man dressed in a Hawaiian shirt sitting behind a desk with his feet propped on the table looking up at her with an expectant expression.

She was too anxious to speak. When he realised this, he rolled his eyes and said, "You're not a guest are you?"

She shook her head and squeaked. "I-I'm Katniss Everdeen. Um, I got a job as the stage manager and they told me to come in today to see how everything works."

The man looked at Katniss then glanced at his clipboard, then back at he. He got up and beckoned her to follow him. She stared for a moment but then snapped out of it and hurriedly followed after him.

"I'm taking you to the control room. There, you'll meet Rue, and she'll give you a tour and whatnot."

They kept walking, past the foyer, through the set itself, and then backstage. When they finally got to the control room, it was empty except for a few people. Katniss noticed a small, dark-skinned girl with big brown hair and doe-eyed caramel eyes. She couldn't have been more than 20 years old.

Surprisingly, Hawaiian Shirt Guy led Katniss to her. When she saw them walking up to her, she gave both a warm smile and said, "Hey Rick, who's this?"

"Rue, this is Katniss Everdeen. The new stage manager Caesar hired."

Rue held out a hand to Katniss. "Hi, I'm Rue, Caesar's assistant."

Katniss took it and smiled. "Katniss, as Rick said." Rick nodded and left the room, but not before giving Rue a small wave.

Rue smiled and waved back at him. Then she looked at me with the same smile and it hit me how someone, basically a stranger, could be so warm and welcoming. Rue reminded Katniss of her little sister, Prim. Prim, like Rue, could talk to someone she just met like they were best friends.

Katniss decided she liked Rue, even though they had only said a sentence to each other.

"So," Rue said, bringing Katniss back from her thoughts, "first thing you need to know: Delly. She's one of the make-up people and she likes to make welcome muffins for new staff. She's not the best baker, though, so a word to the wise? Don't eat it."

Katniss started to chuckle and soon Rue joined in. The few people who were in the room gave them strange looks but the two women didn't care.

They continued the tour. Rue showed Katniss where to go in the building and where not to go, and where she would be working most of the time. They joked around and laughed a lot.

Katniss hadn't even thought about Mr. Blue-Eyed Wonder from the club since she entered the building. She wasn't nervous about work anymore; in fact she was actually looking forward to it. If the rest of the staff were half as nice as Rue was, Katniss knew she would have no problem working there.

* * *

Katniss unlocked her apartment door and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Madge sprawled on the couch watching TV.

"God, Madge, you could have told me that you were coming over. When did you get here?"

She walked over to Madge and pushed her legs off the couch so she could sit down. Madge grumbled, but Katniss paid her no attention, instead grabbing the remote from her and looking for something good to watch.

America's Next Top Model? Nope.

Keeping Up With the Kardashians? Hell no.

A Friends marathon? Definitely.

Madge groaned and covered her face with a pillow when she heard the first chords. "Really Katniss?" she asked in a muffled tone. "Do you _have_ to watch every time a Friends rerun is on?"

Madge always complained but Katniss knew that she didn't mind watching Rachel and Ross's on-again, off-again relationship or Joey's player ways whenever Katniss put it on.

They were about two episodes into Friends before Katniss realized that Madge was trying to talk to her.

"Katniss!" She yelled.

"Yeah?" Katniss said, still a little distracted.

"I was saying that you should call Prim and tell her about the job. She'll be really excited."

Katniss hesitated. He plan was to not tell Prim about the job until about a month, because everything was still so up in the air; she could lose her job tomorrow or next week. Not telling her could save her from a lot of disappointment or even doubt that she'd be able to become a doctor. If she realised how difficult it was for her big sister to fulfill her dreams, she could be discouraged and not pursue her own.

But Katniss knew for a fact that if Prim found out that Katniss was keeping the knowledge of her job from her to spare her disappointment, they would get into a huge fight about how Prim wasn't a child anymore and Katniss didn't need to protect her.

Was it really fair to keep this from her? Katniss remembered always telling her parents to give her enough space to make mistakes and let her learn from them, and to let her choose what would affect her and what won't. Maybe that was how Prim was feeling.

Madge just sat there watching Katniss's inner debate with a satisfied smirk on her face, knowing she had won.

Katniss looked at Madge's smug expression and rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll call her. Quit feeling so proud of yourself." She added, smacking Madge with a pillow when she saw her friend was still smirking.

She pulled out her phone and quickly dialed Prim's number. It was around midnight in London, but Katniss knew that Prim wouldn't mind.

"Hello?" Her voice was groggy, and Katniss felt a twinge of guilt that she had woken her up, especially since it was a school night.

"Hey, little duck. Sorry for waking you up."

"How many times have I told you not to call me little duck?"

Many times. Prim had told her many times not to call her little duck. However, Katniss knew it was a comfort when some jerk broke up with her, or a girl from her school called her ugly.

"So, um, how are mom and dad?" She glanced at Madge who was glaring at her. She obviously wanted Katniss to cut to the chase.

Even Prim seemed to notice she was stalling. "Katniss, why did you really call? Obviously not to check up on me."

"I called because I wanted to tell you that…" Madge was, motioning with her hands for me to speed it up, "I got a job as a stage manager at the Caesar Flickerman Show."

Katniss heard squealing from the other end of the phone; she had to hold it a foot away from her ear until the younger Everdeen calmed down. "That's awesome! You're so lucky; you get to spend to spend your day with celebrities!"

"I won't actually spend time with them," Katniss said. "We might say a few words to each other but that's it."

Katniss heard Prim yawn and decided to say goodnight. "You should go to bed. I'll try to call you soon. Goodnight, little duck."

Katniss could practically hear her roll her eyes before she said, "Goodnight Katniss."

I hung up the phone and saw Madge's grin. "Now, was that so hard?" she said in a slightly patronizing voice.

"It's not the telling her part I was worried about. It's the part where I lose my job and I have to break the news to her that I'm worried about."

Madge's smile turned to a grimace. Katniss knew Madge hated that she was such a pessimist, always expecting the worst and never letting her hopes get too high. But after two years of utter disappointment, Katniss didn't expect things to start to be clear skies from now on.

Madge knew that, but that didn't mean she liked Katniss's train of thought. "Don't worry," Madge finally said, "I have a feeling you're going to have this job for a while."

As if it were a sign, the phone rang. The number was the same from when the Flickerman Show had called before. "Hello?"

"Is this Katniss Everdeen?"

"Yes?" She tried not to sound so eager but the person could probably hear the excitement in her voice.

"I wanted to inform you that you start work tomorrow at 9 a.m."

"Okay, thank you!"

Katniss hung up and looked at Madge, who was smiling at her. It felt so good to know that she had a job to go to tomorrow and for sure the day after that. Madge was right; Katniss should stop worrying about losing the job and just enjoy it.

Madge read her like a book. "Katniss, this is a great opportunity for you! Enjoy it instead of scared that you're going to get fired. If it happens, it happens. But it won't because you are amazing, and they are lucky to have you, Miss Katniss Everdeen." She engulfed her best friend in a hug.

Katniss nodded and took a deep breath. "I'll try Madge. I will."

* * *

Katniss walked towards the Caesar Flickerman Show, but she didn't feel nearly as anxious as yesterday. She wasn't as nervous that she would do something horrendous and Caesar would fire her on the spot.

When she walked through the door she saw Rick sitting in the same position as yesterday but with a polo shirt instead of Hawaiian. Katniss actually smiled and waved to him. He responded with a low grunt.

The show started at 9:30, and it was only 8:50, so the lobby was fairly empty except for the few people opening up the snack bar and the merchandise store. Katniss followed the detailed instructions that Rue gave her on how to get backstage. Apparently, she wasn't supposed to go through the set unless the lights and camera people weren't there setting up.

Backstage, a bubbly blonde haired lady who was holding a basket full of muffins greeted her.

_This must be Delly,_ Katniss thought. Rue's warning rang clear in her head.

"Hi, I'm Delly and you must be Katniss." She had a very strong country accent, the type that could get _really_ annoying if you heard it too many times. "I baked these for you, kind of like a welcoming gift."

Katniss gingerly took the basket from Delly and gave her an awkward smile. "Thank you, that was really thoughtful."

"No problem! Well, I should probably let you get to work now. First day and all!" She seemed more excited about Katniss's first day of work than Katniss actually was.

Delly bounced away, leaving Katniss to comprehend what had taken place. She was still standing there when Rue walked over to her. They stood there in silence until Katniss finally said, "She's quite friendly."

Rue stared at her for a few seconds before laughing. "Yes, she is."

They was still laughing when a tall man walked up to them, handing Katniss a clipboard and a headset. "This has the layout of what the show will be like and everyone who is going to appear today."

Katniss did a quick scan of today's guests. Some music group she had never heard of, Gwyneth Paltrow and Peeta Mellark. Not bad.

She waved goodbye to Rue and went over to the stage to talk to the sound and lighting people. By the time she was finished, it was 8:20 and people were starting to file in.

Katniss went back stage and saw Caesar on the makeup chairs with a cluster of people around him; they seemed to be just finishing up his makeup and adding some hairspray to his deep blue hair.

Her heart was pounding as she walked up to him, but she shook it off and said, "Ten minutes, Mr. Flickerman."

He glanced at me and nodded. _Okay_, she thought, _that went well_.

Katniss walked over to the guests who were sitting on makeup chairs of their own, but with fewer people around them. She walked up to the music group first and gave them the layout and when they were going to go on before moving on to Gwyneth and told her the same thing.

She was looking at her clipboard when she moved to Peeta. He might think she was rude, but she really needed to double-check some things. "Right. So, Peeta Mellark."

She expected a "Hi" or something, but to her surprise, she heard no response. She looked up to give him a glare, but stopped short when she saw his wide blue eyes staring at her. She blinked a few times, and even pinched herself to see if she was dreaming, but there was no mistaking that it was true.

Blue-Eyed Wonder from the club was Peeta Mellark.

**And that is chapter 2, finally. It was really hard to write this chapter so I'm sorry if it sucked. **

**If you thought it didn't then follow, favourite, and review.**

**Thanks to my amazing beta IceCreamGurl6455**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was actually him. Not just some cruel joke Katniss's mind was playing on her. There he was, sitting in his dressing room.

Katniss gave him a quick scan. Nothing had changed; his blonde hair was still as curly as it was when she met him and his eyes were the same pools of light blue.

Peeta gazed at her in wonder. She was as beautiful as ever and _standing right in front of him_.

The funny part? All Peeta could do was stare at her. Once his eyes met her silky grey ones, it did not want to look away. It was like a dream. Ever since that night all he wanted to do was find out about her. It started off as a mild curiosity. It couldn't really have been anything more than that considering he knew zilch about her-not even her name.

But he knew he was leaning on desperate when he considered telling Haymitch. The old drunk would've fallen on his ass laughing and would never have let him live it down. So he settled with confiding in his best friend, Finnick Odair.

Peeta laughed inwardly at what Finnick would be thinking if he could see how Peeta looked right now; slack jawed, eyes as wide, and ultimately looking like a complete idiot.

Peeta urged himself to do something, _anything_, other than stare at her. He was a big believer in fate and he believed something brought them here together and he wasn't willing to let this chance slip right out of his fingertips. It didn't matter if all he managed to get was her name because at least it was something.

_Come on, _Peeta thought to himself, _just say hi you idiot._

"You." That was it. That was his amazing first word that he managed to pull out of his good for nothing head.

Thankfully she chose to use that same word and it didn't sound as stupid when she said it. She didn't even say it, _she breathed it._

"I never thought I would see you again."

"And I never thought you would be a celebrity." Peeta could hear the sarcasm in her words but he could also sense a hint of wonder and surprise.

"But here we are."

She laughed and Peeta came to the conclusion that he could listen to her laugh for the rest of his life.

"You know. I never got your name." He hoped he didn't come off to desperate.

"Oh it's-"

"Katniss!" A dark skinned girl barged through the door. "You have to get to work."

As Katniss followed Rue, she seemed to be in a state of shock. Katniss took the chance and glanced at Rue. She looked like she was trying to make sense of what she had barged in on. In truth, Katniss couldn't make sense of it herself.

She just saw blue eyed wonder from the bar and he was cuter than ever but he was also a celebrity. The funny thing was that the only thought running through her mind was; that explains the baseball hat and sunglasses.

Apparently she found that absolutely hilarious. Rue gave her a strange look when she burst into a fit of giggle

"Katniss Everdeen. I didn't take you for the type to get starstruck."

"I'm not." She replied while bustling around, trying to get her job done.

The show started and you could hear a roar of applause from the stage. In truth, she really wasn't starstruck and didn't usually get starstruck. Well other than the time she saw Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry-but who wouldn't be? Talking to them and talking to Peeta were two completely different experiences. With them Katniss had this nervous feeling in her stomach and couldn't seem to catch her breath. She couldn't seem to catch her breath with Peeta either, but it was more like a _he's taking my breath away _kind of way. She also didn't get this nervous sense of dread. It was more like butterflies fluttering in her stomach. As cliché as that sounded.

Katniss briefly looked at her clipboard and saw that Peeta was on in five minutes. She knocked on a couple of dressing room doors before hearing his voice. She slowly opened the door and peered in. "Um, you're on stage in five minutes Mr. Mellark."

He had been tapping away on his phone and hadn't looked up. The moment Katniss spoke up though, his head shot up so fast, she was surprised he hadn't broken his neck.

He slipped his phone into his pocket and gave her an earth shattering grin. "You don't have to call me Mr. Mellark. You can just call me Peeta." He walked over to her, still smiling. His blue eyes stayed on her for the longest time.

It took a moment for Katniss to remember what she even came here for. They got back with not a moment to spare because the audience was applauding once again and Gwenyth was now exiting the stage.

Caesar was introducing Peeta and the audience, once again was applauding. They grew louder, if possible, when he walked onto the stage. The view of the stage wasn't the best but she was still able to see and hear what they were saying.

"So Peeta," Caesar started after they exchanged pleasantries. "How are things going for you?"

"Things are going great. I've been acting for a few years now but I don't think I'll ever get used to people knowing my name everywhere you go."

Caesar nodded in understanding. "It's a big change from you're old life isn't it?"

They continue on the topic for a few minutes before Caesar moves on. "You have a movie coming out in a couple of weeks right?"

"Yeah, the Amazing Spiderman 2. The first one was such a hit. I'm hoping people will love this one as just as much."

"I bet they will." Caesar paused before saying, "Excuse me for being so forward but tell me, do you have a girlfriend?"

Peeta let out a nervous laugh and ran his fingers through his hair. "Ah, sorry Caesar but no I don't.

Caesar wasn't letting it go so easily though, "Come on. A handsome guy like you? There's got to be a special lady."

Peeta was now back to his cool and easy going self. "I'm afraid not. I'm enjoying the single life right now but the moment I do snag a girlfriend, you'll be the first to know."

"I'll hold you to that promise." He turned to the audience and yelled, "Peeta Mellark everybody!"

The audience erupted again and Peeta gave one last wave before exiting the stage. "The show went on commercial break and Caesar took the chance to welcome Katniss personally.

"Katniss! I didn't get the chance to talk to you before the show. I can already tell you'll be a great addition to the show."

Her heart soared. "Thank you Mr. Flickerman."

"Oh call me Caesar."

She gave him a shy smile as she said, "Thank you Caesar."

Caesar politely left to go touch up on his make-up before he had to get back on stage.

Katniss took the opportunity to look around the room for Peeta but didn't see him. She assumed he was either in his dressing room or in the lounge where the food was. She tried to hide her disappointment as Katniss walked over to Rue and waited for the show to start up again.

*insert line here*

Katniss made her way to the car, basket of muffins in hand. The parking lot was fairly empty due to the fact that the show had ended an hour ago. Needless to say, she was glad to be going home. And as absurd as it might sound, she also wanted to tell Madge about today's events. She was about to get into her car when she was stopped by Rue.

"Hey Katniss! Wait up!" Her wild her was flying about as she ran to reach Katniss.

Katniss waited patiently for Rue to reach her. "Hey, I know you're probably itching to go home," She said, taking a breath, "but I wanted you to have my number so we could meet up over coffee and you could tell me what was going on between you and Peeta Mellark back there."

Rue had that look on her face that gave Katniss the impression that she was not going to take no for an answer. Katniss couldn't help but smile as Rue gave her a piece of paper with her number on it.

"Call me anytime." She gave Katniss one last smile before walking back into the building.

Katniss entered her car and started programming Rue's number into her phone.

She was more than startled when someone started tapping on her window. She looked up to see none other than Peeta Mellark giving her a shy grin. She reciprocated the smile and rolled her window down.

"Hi," He said, "Sorry I scared you. I just didn't get a chance to see you again after I finished my interview."

"Well here I am."

It was silent for a moment, just smiling at each other before Peeta shook his head. "I actually wanted to ask you something."

Katniss raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"I-Will you go out with me?" Peeta cursed himself for stuttering but still looked at Katniss with a pleading look.

He saw her surprised look and hurriedly continued. "I know it's a little much to ask because I'm a celebrity and the paparazzi would go after you like crazy but I feel something and I want to go after it. There's a reason why we're meeting each other again and I'm sure as hell not going to let you walk away again."

Katniss sat there, stunned at his words. Two minutes ago she was all but ready to go home and put her feet up but now all she wanted to do was be with Peeta and go on whatever adventure was waiting for me with him.

"So when and where would this date take place? If I said yes, of course."

Peeta was in shock but managed to get out, "Now? I mean if that's okay. We could drive back to my apartment and I could whip up some lunch for us. I would think you would want something low key where no one would be around to take pictures."

Katniss was surprised at how considerate Peeta was being. She dated her fair amount of guys and they were not nearly as nice as him.

"It's a date then." Katniss said, trying to hide her excitement. "I'll follow your car."

Peeta nodded and headed to his black Tesla Model X that made Katniss's car look like dog's crap in comparison.

She ignored her embarrassment and started her car. It gave a low rumble before going silent. She tried again and the same thing happened. Third time? No luck. She couldn't believe this was happening. Of all days for the stupid car to stop working, it had to be today.

She saw Peeta walking over to her and was ready to just crawl up in a hole and die of embarrassment.

"Do you want to hitch a ride with me? I can get someone to help you bring your car back to your place." Katniss was surprised not to see any trace of amusement in his voice.

"Thank you." She followed Peeta into the backseat of his car. She was greeted by a dark skinned man sitting in the driver's seat.

"This," Peeta started once they were settled in, "is my buddy Thresh. Thresh, this is Katniss." He turned to me and said, "He agreed to drive me around today."

Katniss said a polite hello.

"Is this the girl that you wouldn't stop talking about, Peeta?"

"I never mentioned Katniss to you." He was silent for a moment before his eyes went wide, "Freakin Finnick! I can't trust him with one secret."

Katniss couldn't help but smile at his outburst. He obviously wasn't mad at this Finnick guy considering he was smiling.

Peeta ran his hand through his hair, embarrassed. Thresh had just indirectly told Katniss how he was obsessing over her. He over glanced at Katniss and noticed her smiling at him. It was like a magnetic pull; once their eyes met there was no way they could look away.

*insert line here*

"So what would you like me to make?"

"Surprise me." Katniss looked around Peeta's apartment in wonder. It was located in the wealthier parts of LA and so it definitely looked nice. Peeta had the newest model of everything.

_Literally_. Even the toilet was impressive.

But the kitchen was by far the best room in the place.

Katniss wondered what Peeta would think if he ever saw her apartment. It was probably more than half the size of his and paled in comparison to his.

"I've never met a guy with such a nice place. But then again you're a celebrity so…" she trailed off, not knowing how to end my sentence.

Peeta laughed while cutting some vegetables. "Thank you?"

"So is Thresh a celebrity too? And who's Finnick?"

Peeta stopped his cutting and turned to her. "I'm getting a bit worried. I see why you might not know who I am, but not knowing who Finnick is? That should be a crime." He smiled to let her know he was joking.

"I'll admit I'm not the most educated when it comes to celebrities but my sister, Prim, knows everything there is to know about celebrities. If she saw you she would have a heart attack or something."

"She seems like a lovely girl. But yeah, Thresh is a friend I met in college and Finnick is an actor."

Peeta continued making lunch and Katniss helped whenever she could. Although, she was probably more of a nuisance than a help, considering her lack of culinary skills. But in no time the table was set with two plates of Ratatouille Rigatoni.

They dug in and Katniss was in food heaven she made sure that Peeta knew this. They spent over an hour laughing and getting to know each other. Katniss learned that Peeta grew up in Minnesota and his family owned a bakery there. He was the youngest in his family and had two older brothers.

Katniss told him about herself as well. She talked about living in London, her family and Madge and Gale.

For an hour, Katniss forgot he was a celebrity. He was a regular person. A regular person she just so happened to like very much.

As she entered Peeta's car, she wanted to prolong going home as much as possible. Thresh had left after dropping them of at Peeta's apartment so it was just them.

Katniss directed him to her house. It was at the other side of town and so they had more time to keep talking.

They stayed in the car even though they had reached Katniss's apartment building. Peeta didn't come down out of fear of someone seeing them.

"I had a great time." Katniss said, after a moment of silence.

"Me too. I'd like to do it again."

Katniss couldn't help but smile at his nervousness. "I'd like to do it again too."

"Can I- can I um get your number?"

Katniss nodded and gave him her number. They were silent again and all Peeta could think of was how badly he want to kiss her but he didn't want to ruin what to ruin what they had by making her feel uncomfortable.

"I'll text you later." Katniss said finally.

"Okay, I'll be waiting. Bye Katniss."

Katniss started to leave the door and all Peeta could hear was Finnick's voice urging him on, telling him to go big or go home. He took a breath trying to settle his nerves.

Katniss was almost out the door. She had been hoping Peeta would kiss her and tried to hide her disappointment as she exited his car.

Peeta reached out and grabbed her elbow at the last second. Katniss turned back, looking at him. He said nothing as he pulled her closer to him and met his lips with hers.

It didn't last long but it didn't need to. They stared at each other again. "That was nice." Katniss breathed. "Very nice."

"It was. I'll be waiting for your text." He still couldn't believe he had just done that.

That was hands down the best kiss he had ever experienced and as he looked into Katniss's gray eyes he hoped he would be able to kiss her for a very long time.

**Well that's that. This chapter is not betaed because it's been a while since I've update and I thought I should just get it out so yeah.**

**Please review. It means a lot to me and favourite and follow too.**

**Bye :)**


End file.
